Runaway
by happy molecule
Summary: Estel runs away and finds himself in a very dangerous situation. *complete!!!*
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: All I own is the underwear I'm wearing…………..wait a second, these aren't mine…………….

"Ada, I'm bored!" Estel whined, tugging on Elrond's robe.

"Estel, not now!  Go find one of your brothers."  Elrond returned to his writings.  The young child sighed and darted out of the room.

Estel soon found his brothers with a small group of elves.

"Elldan, I'm boreded!" he whined.  He tugged on his brother's sleeve.  Once again, he was yelled at.

"Go away Estel!" Elladan scowled.

"Pease Elldan," he begged.  "Pease can I go with you?"

Elohir kneeled down.

"Estel, you know you're not allowed to leave Rivendell."

"Pease Elir.  I be good."

"No Estel, it's too dangerous.  You might get hurt.  Stay here in Rivendell."  The brothers jumped on their horses and joined the other elves, who were patiently waiting for them.

Estel stood there, all alone.  He kicked the ground.  

"It's not fair!  I never get to do anything!" He slumped dejectedly to the ground.  "Why doesn't anyone ever want to play with me?  Don't they like me?"  Tears began rolling down his cheeks.  "Why doesn't anybody like me?"  He stood up suddenly.  "Well, if no-one likes me, I go somewhere where they will!"  He stomped determinedly away from Rivendell.

            "Ow!"  Estel yelled as he once again tripped over.  He rubbed his knee and began sobbing quietly.  Poor Estel Had been waling for hours now.  He was tired, sore and hungry.  His stomach growled in protest.  For the millionth time today, his thoughts turned to those of Rivendell.  They would probably be sitting down for dinner right about now.  Elladan and Elohir would be arguing over who was better at archery, or who was a more skilled horse rider.  He would have lots of nice, yummy lembas.  And Ada would be there……..  He began sobbing even harder at the thought of Elrond.  Surely he had realised that Estel was missing by now.  And they had to be searching for him.  And they would find him soon, right?

"I'll wait here till they find me," he decided.  He lay down on the ground and curled into a little ball.  

            Elrond anxiously paced his chambers.  Where was Estel?  A sudden knock on his door disrupted his chain of thoughts.  He looked up and found Glorfindel standing ion the doorway.

"Any news?" he asked, hopefully.

"No, my lord."

Elrond sighed and resumed his pacing.  Sweet Eru, please let Estel be ok.

            Estel woke up with a start.  What was that?  He listened carefully.  Why couldn't he have hearing like his brothers?  He shivered.  It was pouring with rain; he was drenched.  He pulled his cloak tighter around himself.  Wait.  There was that noise again.  He stood up and looked around.  There was the noise AGAIN!  He spun around and saw a flash of black.  He crept towards it.  

WHAM!!!!

Estel felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, and he collapsed to the ground.

            "My lord!" Glorfindel rushed into the room.  "My lord, there have been orc sightings near the border."

"Send out a party of elves.  They can deal with it," Elrond replied distractedly.  Glorfindel didn't move.  Elrond looked up sharply.  

"What?"

"My lord, we found a pair of orc tracks and followed them."  Glorfindel seemed troubled.  "They lead to Estel's tracks."


	2. chapter 1

Disclaimer: All I own is the underwear I'm wearing…………..wait a second, these aren't mine…………….

"Ada, I'm bored!" Estel whined, tugging on Elrond's robe.

"Estel, not now!  Go find one of your brothers."  Elrond returned to his writings.  The young child sighed and darted out of the room.

Estel soon found his brothers with a small group of elves.

"Elldan, I'm boreded!" he whined.  He tugged on his brother's sleeve.  Once again, he was yelled at.

"Go away Estel!" Elladan scowled.

"Pease Elldan," he begged.  "Pease can I go with you?"

Elohir kneeled down.

"Estel, you know you're not allowed to leave Rivendell."

"Pease Elir.  I be good."

"No Estel, it's too dangerous.  You might get hurt.  Stay here in Rivendell."  The brothers jumped on their horses and joined the other elves, who were patiently waiting for them.

Estel stood there, all alone.  He kicked the ground.  

"It's not fair!  I never get to do anything!" He slumped dejectedly to the ground.  "Why doesn't anyone ever want to play with me?  Don't they like me?"  Tears began rolling down his cheeks.  "Why doesn't anybody like me?"  He stood up suddenly.  "Well, if no-one likes me, I go somewhere where they will!"  He stomped determinedly away from Rivendell.

            "Ow!"  Estel yelled as he once again tripped over.  He rubbed his knee and began sobbing quietly.  Poor Estel Had been waling for hours now.  He was tired, sore and hungry.  His stomach growled in protest.  For the millionth time today, his thoughts turned to those of Rivendell.  They would probably be sitting down for dinner right about now.  Elladan and Elohir would be arguing over who was better at archery, or who was a more skilled horse rider.  He would have lots of nice, yummy lembas.  And Ada would be there……..  He began sobbing even harder at the thought of Elrond.  Surely he had realised that Estel was missing by now.  And they had to be searching for him.  And they would find him soon, right?

"I'll wait here till they find me," he decided.  He lay down on the ground and curled into a little ball.  

            Elrond anxiously paced his chambers.  Where was Estel?  A sudden knock on his door disrupted his chain of thoughts.  He looked up and found Glorfindel standing ion the doorway.

"Any news?" he asked, hopefully.

"No, my lord."

Elrond sighed and resumed his pacing.  Sweet Eru, please let Estel be ok.

            Estel woke up with a start.  What was that?  He listened carefully.  Why couldn't he have hearing like his brothers?  He shivered.  It was pouring with rain; he was drenched.  He pulled his cloak tighter around himself.  Wait.  There was that noise again.  He stood up and looked around.  There was the noise AGAIN!  He spun around and saw a flash of black.  He crept towards it.  

WHAM!!!!

Estel felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, and he collapsed to the ground.

            "My lord!" Glorfindel rushed into the room.  "My lord, there have been orc sightings near the border."

"Send out a party of elves.  They can deal with it," Elrond replied distractedly.  Glorfindel didn't move.  Elrond looked up sharply.  

"What?"

"My lord, we found a pair of orc tracks and followed them."  Glorfindel seemed troubled.  "They lead to Estel's tracks."


	3. chapter 2

A/N: *looks at the number of reviews* WOW!!!  SOOO MANY!!! Thanks u guys/girls!  And thanks to all those who told me the dif between orcs and uruk-hai, and Eru and Valar!  Well, here's the next bit!  Oh, by the way, I know sometimes I night not make a lot of sense, but my brain works a lot faster than my fingers (unfortunately!) so it cant be avoided.  Oh and I was gonna make some changes 2 some of the earlier chappies 2 make me make more sense, but unfortunately they have disappeared from my computer!! *sob!!* So sorry everyone.  Btw, _italics are thoughts……..And now onto the story………._

Elrond stared at the sight before him.  Orthanc had always been daunting at the best of times; now it was absolutely terrifying.  The whole of Isengard was swarming with orcs.  He had no chance whatsoever of getting in.  Elrond sighed and reluctantly turned his horse around.  It had been a fleeting hope; nothing more.  Suddenly, he heard a blood piercing scream.  His blood turned to ice.  Sweet Valar, that was Estel!  He had to do something!  He fiercely swung his horse around and galloped towards Isengard.

            "HALT!!  What is your business in Isengard!?" a tough-looking man asked gruffly.

"I have a message for Saruman," Elrond replied in a deep voice.  He had pulled his hood low over his face, covering his long hair and pointed ears.  He just hoped the rest of him didn't give away the fact that he was an elf.  

"From who?"

Oh no.  He hadn't thought this far ahead.  Think Elrond, THINK!  Who the hell would send a message to Saruman?!

"Well?" the guardsman was getting impatient.  

"Don't you know who your message is from?" the other guardsmen taunted.  "Perhaps we should remind you."  He grinned menacingly and took a step towards Elrond.

"Of course I do!" Elrond snapped.  "Aa' menealle nauva calen ar' malta-it's from Gandalf the grey."

The guardsman studied him suspiciously.  _Great Elrond, just great, he chided himself mentally.  _As if you don't already look enough like an elf, you had to go and screw it up by speaking in Elvish!!  Sweet Valar, you might as well have stuck a giant neon sign on your head saying "I am an elf!"!  _Elrond was screwed.  Estel was doomed.  He was going to die a slow and painful death, and all because of his stupidity!  Gee Elrond, why don't you just-_

"Let him enter!"

"What?" Oops.  Elrond realised he should've been listening more closely.

"I said, you may enter," the guardsman replied.  Unless you'd rather stay here with us?" He chuckled.  Elrond glared at him and rode through the gates.  

            _Don't stare.  Don't stare, Elrond chanted to himself.  He had to act natural; like he'd been here a thousand times.  Sweet Valar, Isengard had changed a lot since he'd last been here.  He remembered lush green gardens; now he was faced with mechanics and black.  A lot of black.  There wasn't a shade of colour anywhere!  Elrond shuddered.  This place was really creeping him out!  Ok, ok, he had to find Estel.  How the hell was he supposed to do that?!  It's not as though he could walk up to the nearest orc and ask for directions-_

"OW!"  He was dragged out of his musings as he suddenly crashed into a passing orc.  _Or could he……._

He looked at the orc he'd walked into.  

"Where is the human child?"

The orc grunted and walked away.  Elrond grabbed his shoulder.

"THE HUMAN CHILD?  WHERE DID THEY TAKE HIM?!"

The orc glared at him and offhandedly gestured towards Orthanc.  Elrond looked up.  Oh crap.  How the hell was he supposed to get all the way up there?!

            Thank Valar, he was almost there!  He'd somehow miraculously gotten past the guards, inside Orthanc, and now was almost at the top!  He ran up the last couple of steps.  Ok.  _Estel has to be in one of the rooms up here_.  He looked around.  _THERE ARE LIKE TWENTY ROOMS UP HERE!!!!!  Suddenly Elrond heard a piercing scream.  Sweet Valar, that was Estel!    What were they doing to Estel?!  He leaned against the wall.  Suddenly he found himself on the roof.  What the hell?!  He must've fallen through the wall…………  _

He heard someone breathing heavily behind him and spun around.

"Estel!" he rushed over to Estel and gathered up the child in his arms.  

"Ada," Estel gasped. "Ada…… manke nae lle?....... amin hiraetha……." (Ada…..Where were you?....I'm sorry……)

"Ssh, my child."  He looked Estel over and barely managed to stop himself from crying out.  Estel's clothes were soaked with blood.  One eye was swollen shut; the other was barely open.  His nose was bleeding everywhere.  The poor child was struggling to breathe.  Elrond reached for some herbs in his pocket, crushed them in his hand and put them in Estel's mouth, instructing him to swallow.

"ELROND!" Someone growled behind him.  He spun around.  

"Saruman….!" Elrond was filled with irrepressible rage.  So this was the monster who'd abused Estel?!  He ran at Saruman, ready to tear out his throat.  He tackled him to the ground and violently slammed Saruman's head against the ground.  Suddenly he found himself flying through the air.  He slammed into the ground.  He stood up and once again found himself lying on the ground. Elrond groaned.  Sweet Valar, that hurt!  Saruman stormed over and kicked him, throwing all his strength into it.  His boot connected squarely with Elrond's jaw and sent him sliding across the floor.  Blood streamed out of his mouth.  He managed to get up unsteadily on all fours.  Elrond felt a sudden sharp blow to his back.  Sweet Valar, he couldn't breathe!  An intense pain shot up his spine.  Saruman brought down his staff again and again; on his back, his head, his stomach.  He slammed it down on Elrond's elbow and Elrond heard a crack.  A blinding light flashed before his eyes.  He clutched at his elbow.  Sweet Valar, the pain was uninimaginable!  Elrond writhed in pain.  Saruman towered over him.  He crackled.  

"Did you really think you could destroy _me?" he taunted.  "Did you really believe that you could protect the child?  Really, Elrond, you of all people should have known better.  Of course we would have searched for him.  Inconceivable that we wouldn't.  And now I have him.  I have Isildur's heir." And with that, Saruman lifted his staff.  Sweet Valar, Saruman was going to kill him!  Elrond's eyes darted frantically.  How the hell was he going to escape?!  Saruman slammed his staff down.  Elrond's foot shot out and kicked Saruman, a split second before he was hit with the staff.  Saruman dropped his staff and grabbed his shin, howling in pain.  Elrond leapt up and grabbed the staff.  He swung it hard, throwing as much force behind it as was elvenly possible.  The staff connected with Saruman's temple with a loud smack.  Saruman sprawled on the ground, motionless.  Was he dead?  Elrond couldn't care less.  He scooped up Estel and sprinted down the stairs.  _

            Elrond slowed his horse and jumped off.  He sprinted through the stairs and suddenly, finally, he was there.

"Elrond?" Celeborn asked.  "Why are you-" he suddenly noticed Estel lying limply in Estel's arms.  He motioned for one of the other elves to take him away.

"Now Elrond, what happened?"

But Elrond could no longer answer.  All of a sudden he collapsed to the ground.


	4. chapter 3

A/N: Sorry for the long delay between postings, but my stupid computer wouldn't let me upload anything!  Oh, and in case I once again didn't make sense, Elrond and Estel are now in Lothlorien

Elrond woke up.  His eyes darted around the room.  Where was he?  Suddenly it all came back to him.  Isengard, Saruman, Estel- Sweet Valar, where was Estel?!  Was he ok?!  Elrond shot up and ran out of the room.  He ran down a long corridor and turned right.  He knew exactly where they would've taken Estel.  He turned right again and suddenly found himself in the kitchen.  Wait a second………how the hell did he get here?!  

He ran out and immediately crashed into someone.  Oops.  Suddenly he realised who he had knocked over.  Oh crap, it was Galadriel!  He helped her to her feet, apologising profusely.  Galadriel looked at him bemusedly.  

"Where would you be going in such a rush, Elrond?"

"How is Estel?  Where is he?"

Galadriel's smile faded.  

"I will lead you to him," she said solemnly.  She led him to the left and down a bright corridor.  The brightness of the corridor disturbed him.  It made everything so _happy_.  A sick feeling settled in the pit of his stomach.  Something was terribly wrong.  

          Elrond was led into a dim, solemn room, right on the outer edges of Lothlorien.  He rushed in.  He had to know what had happened to Estel.  It was- sweet Valar!  He dropped to his knees.  He was shaking all over.  Sweet Valar, this couldn't be!  

"I'm sorry Elrond," Galadriel said softly.  She gently laid a hand on his shoulder.  "We tried as best as we could to heal him, but he was beyond our skill to help.  I'm so sorry."

Elrond was to overcome with grief to reply.  She left the room, leaving the wretched elf-king to deal with the unbearable news.  

"Estel," Elrond whispered, his voice cracking with emotion.  He smoothed back the brown, messy hair from Estel's forehead.  Estel looked so peaceful.  So young.  

"Sweet Valar, please don't let him die!  Please, spare him!  He is but a child!  Please, do not let him die……." He began sobbing quietly.  "Amin mela lle Estel," he whispered. (I love you, Estel)

P.S. Does anyone know what happened to Celebrian?  Did she die or something?


	5. chapter 4

A/N: YAY!  It's finally finished!  I'd like to thank all those who reviewed and those who answered all my q's.  And of course, a special thanks to Elrond and Estel who so kindly let me borrow them for this fic, and I am sorry if I caused them any mental harm.

Elrond groaned.  Who the hell was waking him at this hour?!  The world slowly came back into focus.  He found himself looking at the floor.  He rolled over and glared at the disturber of his sleep.  He rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

"Estel?" he asked in a small voice.  The small child grinned.

"ESTEL!!!!!!!""  Elrond was overjoyed!  He grabbed up Estel and hugged him tight.  "You're alive, YOU'RE ALIVE!!"

"Ada!" Estel protested and wriggled out of his father's grip.  He ran outside and put a stick in his mouth.

"Estel, what are you doing?" Elrond asked.  He was still way too ecstatic with the fact that Estel was alive to remember Estel's new game.

"I a doggie!" Estel got down on all fours and ran up the hill to Elrond.  He tripped over his hand and rolled back down the hill.  Elrond laughed.  Sweet Valar, this kid was strange!  And though Estel was very weird, sometimes annoying, often nerve-wracking, Elrond couldn't imagine life without him.

P.S. Sorry for the cheesy ending, but I just couldn't let Estel die!


End file.
